The Last Cycle
by Athinia
Summary: A new cycle has begun, a new timeline. This time, however, the rules and laws have changed yet again. Another person is in charge, but for how long can she preserve this new universe and keep up with her own emotions and loneliness? Her wish brought the other magical girls together and against her, but another girl knows that black and white are now a muddy gray. [Post Rebellion]


-oOo-

* * *

The city lights beneath her shone with great intensity, so did the half-moon. As the white and untainted snowflakes descended from the dark sky, her violet eyes settled on the small, black and rotating crown. In her hand, she held a representation of her current power. The purple glowing core of the crown told as much. For some reason or another, she felt pride swell in her chest at the sight.

With a tiny smile, she let herself fall off the high cliff. No sign of fear or hesitation was present on her face. Her long, raven-black hair flowed behind her as she got closer and closer to the ground, yet, her smile would not falter at the slightest. She could feel the cold wind lash at her face and howl in her ears, but still, she showed no sign of panic.

When she was almost halfway down the cliff, black wings grew from her back. She spread her wings, lifting herself up and above the bright city once more.

All that was left on the cliff was a cat-like creature with dark swirls in its eyes.

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **Red Ribbons**

* * *

A girl, with pink pair, was lying in her bed in her pajamas. It was late at night. Light from the outside seeped through the curtains and filled the room with a faint glow. Although she knew that she should've been asleep by now, her mind prevented her from doing so. Thoughts of a certain raven-haired girl swirled in her head, which was why she was clutching at the red ribbons she had received earlier that day. She held them in front of her pink eyes. A sigh escaped her lips.

At first, she was scared of Homura, but when the other girl gave her that look in the hallway, a dull ache bloomed in her heart. She didn't understand the reason, however. When those violet orbs stared right at her own, there was a tug at her heart. In addition, Madoka knew that there was something in the other girl's eyes. It seemed like Homura was searching for something. Madoka couldn't pinpoint what though. Homura's eyes had a beautiful colour, but Madoka could only think about how empty they looked - empty and hollow, almost tired. She couldn't deny how familiar they looked as well. It was as if she had seen them in a dream before, an old and distant dream.

With every passing second, she felt her eyelids get heavier and heavier to the point where it was nearly impossible to keep her eyes open. She lowered her hand before she finally let sleep take her away, but even then, she had a tight grip on the ribbons.

-oOo-

A big yawn coming from Madoka caught her mother's attention. "Bad amount of sleep?" Kaname Junko inquired with an amused face. Madoka could only respond with a nod and half-open eyes. Junko smirked. "I noticed your new ribbons yesterday," she said as she continued to apply her make-up. Suddenly, Madoka stiffened with wide eyes. She knew where her mother was going with this. "Apparently, my daughter has already gained an admirer at school." Junko winked at Madoka who could only deny her statement. Her cheeks had a pink tint now.

"As if..." Madoka muttered under her breath, just quiet enough for her mother to not hear it. Again, the events from yesterday flashed through her mind. As a result, Madoka spaced out for a while. _Why_ did _Homura-chan even give me those ribbons?_ Madoka thought. It seemed a tad odd when they had never met before.

"You're going to be late if you don't hurry." Her mother's comment sliced through Madoka's haze, and Madoka began to speed through her normal morning routines. Well, until...

In each hand, Madoka held different coloured ribbons. A pair of yellow ribbons and a pair of red ones. Her gaze flickered from one to the other, staring a second longer on the red pair, something her mother noticed. "Hmm... I wonder which ribbons I should use". With a smile, Junko pointed at the red ribbons.

"I bet it would make your admirer overjoyed," her mother reasoned with a wink.

"Moooom," Madoka whined. Despite being flustered, she tied them on.

Junko nodded at the sight. "That looks pretty good. Now all your secret admirers won't be able to resist you!"

"Like I'd have any," Madoka replied while slightly fidgeting.

"You have to think you do. That's the secret to being pretty." Junko then left, leaving Madoka to stare at her own reflection in the mirror. Her lips pulled upwards at her mother's words. She hoped to become like her one day - confident, strong and pretty.

xxx

Madoka felt her body move on its own just as she saw Takkun attempt to stab the tomato with his fork. Seconds later, the tomato slipped off his plate and was on its way to the floor, but to everyone's surprise, it fell neatly into Madoka's hand instead. "Good job, Madoka," Junko exclaimed with a grin.

"Eh?" Madoka stared at the ripe tomato as a feeling of deja vu surged through her.

xxx

Finally, after hours of listening to the teacher, it was lunchtime. Madoka sighed with relief at the sound of the school bell. She was still tired from the lack of sleep, which reminded her of a certain other girl. Slowly, she turned her head around to look at Homura who was sitting at her own desk, her chin in her hand and blank mask on her face. Almost as if she could sense her staring, Homura shifted her gaze to Madoka. Homura smirked. As a result, the pink-haired girl quickly averted her eyes.

All of a sudden, a loud slam echoed in the classroom which caught everyone's attention, especially Madoka's. She jumped at the noise while Homura only raised her eyebrows slightly.

Right in front of Madoka, stood a grinning girl with crimson-red hair and eyes and a pockystick jutting out of her mouth. She had her hands on top of Madoka's desk and was apparently the source of the sound. Madoka gulped. Her heart was rapidly pounding against her chest. The other girl opened her mouth to say something, but was abruptly interrupted by a smack on the back of her head. "Jeez. What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?" another voice not belonging to the redhead, expressed their irritation. A girl with blue, short hair huffed. "Be a bit more considerate, will you?"

The redhead faced her assailant and retorted with: "The hell?! I did it for your sake! You would've taken forever just to even start talking to her!"

"I would not!"

"Liar liar, your pants are on fire!"

"Ugh! Now you're just being childish!"

By now, Madoka had no idea about what was going on. As the pair continued their quarrel, Madoka whipped her head around to look at the rest of her classmates' reactions. To her bewilderment, everyone had gone back to their respective conversations as if the sudden outbreak had never happened. Madoka had gradually calmed down; however, panic was now replaced with confusion.

"Don't mind them. It's normal for them to squabble like this. I hope they did not frighten you too much, though," another rather gentle voice supplied. This time a green-haired girl had spoken. "A pleasure to meet you, Kaname-san. I am Shizuki Hitomi. Welcome to your second day at our school."

"Ah. Th-thank you. Nice to meet you, too, Shizuki-san," Madoka replied, fiddling with her thumbs as nervousness crept into her. At least Hitomi seemed like a kind and gentle person.

After the brief introduction, Hitomi turned to the bickering couple. "Ahem!"

Finally, both of them stopped. At the ridiculous sight, a giggle emerged from Madoka; the redhead had the blue haired girl in a tight headlock. From the look of it, the victim had tried to break free, but to no avail. What used to be neat and tidy hair, was now disheveled. Hitomi only quirked an eyebrow. Eventually, they untangled themselves from each other. Now blushing, the duo stood with straight backs. A cough and the blue haired girl approached Madoka with an outstretched hand, sending her an apologetic smile. "Hey, sorry about that. I'm Miki Sayaka. Just call me Sayaka." Madoka beamed back and shook her hand. Then everyone turned to the redhead who had her hands folded behind her head.

"Sup, Sakura Kyouko here," Kyouko nonchalantly said. In response, Madoka could only offer an uneasy smile.

"That's it?! You scared her with your brainless act," Sayaka shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Kyouko.

"What was that? Losing your pride in that headlock wasn't enough for ya? It seems that I have to utterly _destroy it_ before you understand that I'm stronger than you. You'll never beat me!" They were both ready to take on each other at a moment's notice. If it wasn't for Hitomi being there, they probably would've done it already.

Hitomi sighed and rubbed at her temples before facing Madoka again. "Would you like to accompany us and eat lunch together? That was what we were intending to ask you before their... arguments... We hoped that we could alleviate your transition from the US to our school. Being new in a class at this time of the year must be a bit scary after all." Hesitation was apparent on Madoka's face. Then she automatically turned her head around and sought out those familiar violet eyes, but to her disappointment, Homura was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, she accepted Hitomi's invitation with a slightly dejected nod. It wasn't like she didn't want to join them. Her attention was just drawn to Homura at the moment. Madoka felt a bit disheartened since the other girl hadn't said anything when she left. _Wait, why would she even say anything? We barely know each other - right?_

xxx

A hand reached for the handle and pushed the door open. A nice breeze swept over the girls. Right now, the group was located on the rooftop of the school. All of them sat down on the pink blanket which Hitomi had brought along. Above them, the sky was a bright blue with no cloud to be seen. It was a splendid day for eating outside. Along the way upstairs, another girl had joined their group, an upperclassman with curly, blonde hair who introduced herself as Tomoe Mami.

Madoka was situated between Hitomi and Sayaka and across Mami and Kyouko. The latter had already began eating her lunch. Moments later, the others joined Kyouko. Even though something in Madoka told her that this was right, like this was something they were supposed to do, she felt that something or _someone_ was missing in their circle. In addition, a voice in her head told her that _she_ herself shouldn't be here though. It was an odd feeling of conflicting emotions and thoughts.

"Uh-uhm." Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on Madoka except for Kyouko's. "I was wondering if you could tell me about Hom- Akemi-san." Hitomi and Sayaka just looked at her with raised eyebrows which caused Madoka to lightly squirm, food long since forgotten.

"Why an' whad d'ya wanna kno about liddle mish Sunshine?" Kyouko asked in between chews. No one had expected her to actually listen to what Madoka had said so it surprised the others, especially since she was so preoccupied with her extreme amount of bread.

"Well, I suppose it is natural to be curious about Akemi-san. She does exude an aura of mysteriousness, doesn't she?" provided Mami with folded hands on her lap.

"It's just that- uhm. She seems so lonely." When Madoka finished her sentence, her gaze was focused on her twiddling thumbs. She realized that this morning. It was loneliness and something else she had seen in them, those violet orbs. Just the mere image of them caused her own eyes to sting a little bit.

"Whatever reason there is, I wouldn't get too close to her," Sayaka shot in with a grimace. "I don't trust her. I feel like she's up to something."

"Like what? Colour her hair blue and cut it so that she can steal your identity?" Kyouko countered, grabbing more bread to stuff in her mouth.

"No! Sheesh. I'm serious here. There is just this nagging feeling in me that says not to trust her."

"It could be bad food, ya know. I told ya not to eat that store-bought bento earlier."

"What? That's not it! And you just wanted to eat it yourself. Ugh! I mean it though; I still believe she's trouble." Silence stretched between the girls now while a heavy sensation settled into Madoka's heart. Along the conversation, Madoka had lost her appetite. She didn't even mind that Kyouko began to eat some of her lunch.

The silence was broken by someone who cleared their throat. "To answer your question, Kaname-san, we honestly do not know much about Akemi-san. She is not anti-social; it just does not seem like she is interested in talking to us much. When asked something, she answers without hesitation, but with very short and straight answers. Sometimes she is a bit unreachable because she is in her own little world," expressed Hitomi, stowing away her bento.

"Ah. I see..." was all Madoka could reply with.

-oOo-

After school, Madoka had joined Sayaka and Kyouko on their journey to the music store because she wasn't exactly in the mood to go home yet. The rooftop conversation had evoked so many thoughts in her head. Who was Homura really?

"Oh, look! They finally have this CD I've been waiting ages for!" Sayaka nearly yelled out, jumping like a hyperactive, little kid with the CD in her hands.

"Is it that classical crap again?" Kyouko replied. In response to Kyouko's comment, Sayaka blew raspberries at her. Madoka looked in amusement at their antics. Despite how much they teased and argued, it was obvious that they cared a lot about each other. It was apparent that they were best friends. It brought a smile on Madoka's face.

All of a sudden, the duo stopped bickering. Serious faces replaced their previous expressions, and a tense atmosphere settled over them. "Hey, we'll be right back, okay," Kyouko let out while Sayaka nodded in agreement. Without as much as checking for Madoka's reaction, they dashed off. Sayaka had even left the CD in the wrong aisle.

 _What was that?_

Three minutes passed, then five and at last ten. Madoka tapped impatiently and worriedly with her foot. If it was a simple bathroom visit, they would have been back by now. When more three minutes elapsed, she decided to search for them and went in the same general direction they had gone. Right, left, left then right again. Her gut feeling was telling her where to go. At this rate, it would be amazing if she could actually find them or so she thought. She doubted that she'd be able to do it in a way. Still, she trudged on in the direction she somehow knew was right.

xxx

This was not what she had expected at all. Before her, stood two figures, one clad in a red dress and boots and the other in a blue and white attire with a white cape. Madoka recognized them as Kyouko and Sayaka. What truly caught her attention though, was the weapons they each held in their hands - a spear and a sword - and the frightening _thing_ in front of them. Her breath hitched in her throat.

A misty, dark creature was hunched over them. Dirty, stained bandages covered its eyes and other parts of its body while a thick knife protruded from its chest. Dense, black and syrupy liquid flowed out of its mouth. Razor sharp teeth jutted out as well. Behind it, the creature had thick, rusty chains around its neck and wrists. If it pulled hard enough, its neck would break so it refrained from moving its hands too much. Dark and murky fog surrounded the thing and made it hard to see its frame. It was like a huge and concentrated mist turned into a creature. No feet were visible and the arms were just made of dense shadows. The creature flickered occasionally as if it would disappear on a windy day.

All of Madoka's senses were screaming at her to move, but she was frozen in place at the horrifying sight. Her pulse was roaring in her ears as she observed the _thing._ The beating of her heart had increased tenfolds, and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest, yet she could only stare. She knew if she stood there for too long, she would end up dead. Still, she could not run.

Sayaka twisted herself around to look at the newcomer. "Ah. Well, I guess we took too long, huh?"

"Puh. This one is tougher than the others for sure, but still not close to my level at all." Kyouko spinned her spear around lazily and grinned at the black mist. "Time to show 'em what we really can do!"

* * *

 **AN:** Ugh. I kinda feel like this is a bit clichéd. Damnit. Too lazy to fix it now. I took ages just to write like 3000 words or so.

So, I watched Rebellion a while ago, and the ending kinda pissed me off. Just a little bit... Or well, yeah. Which is why I wrote this thing! I believe that they deserve a better ending than Rebellion. This whole story is my own interpretation of the ending and what happens next so no hate please. The beginning might be a bit fast and choppy, but that's because most of it is a repeat of the beginning in the series so I left it out.

By the way, the Homura here might seem a bit OOC, but my Homura is based on the one from the Movie's ending and my imagination. Wooooo~

Lastly, I would really appreciate some feedback yooo! Another reason I started this was to practice my English, so I would be really grateful if you guys can give me some tips on dos and donts. Do it gently though! I'm a sensitive soul x)

See you guys soon! Or so I hope, I'm pretty busy because of school. Cheerio!


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